Wiltshire's PCC relieved officers don't need university degrees to walk the beat
Home Secretary Suella Braverman has u-turned on her proposals
Wiltshire's Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson is pleased new police recruits are no longer required to have a degree.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman wanted officers to go into further education before they could walk the beat, but she has now ditched these plans and said they'll be a non-degree route into the job.
Wilkinson has welcomed this decision as he's calling for a more flexible system and also wants people to be hired based on their life experiences.
"If new officers are spending half of their working time on academic papers and theory, that actually takes a lot of those extra officers that we’ve recruited off the beat where I want them," Wilkinson said.
"I would love to have a more flexible system; I would love to be able to fast-track people with previous life experience or those people who are just so dedicated to Policing that they want to get out amongst the community and be doing good as soon as possible.
"I was very relieved because it was far too prescriptive.
"We need the flexibility to recruit the right people with the necessary qualifications for the job and I don’t believe, and I never did believe that everybody must have a degree."